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posted on another forum by Gino about his processes and the make up of this helemt. and how it came to be.interesting tidbits of information here. but from what i was under the impression on EFX"s web site and in the description of the helmet. is that this helemt was derived from "the original master tools ILM used to make the screen-used helmets". but i guess its a mash up of both the tools and a mold made from the front face plate chin cup and lens of a film used helemt. so why not mention this in the description on their site? but they do go on and say.. "There was no digital scanning or 3D modeling used, only original parts and tooling. We even used an original decal sheet from ILM to make our markings and symbols that are seen on the helmet!"so is the "only original parts and tooling" supposed to cover what Geno is stating in his explanation of how the helmet was made? and i think the weathering he did was too much. not subtle enough as seen on the scout helmets from the film that can be seen over at starwarshelmets.com at least i would have liked to have seen it a but more subtle and not so pronounced as he did it. but maybe it wold look like this on the production piece. but then again. it could look worse..

anyway here is what Gino had to say...

Gino wrote:

Here's the facts surrounding the weathering job.I've handled all the helmets in the archives, as well as the one now owned by propstore (previously owned by S.Sansweet).I can tell you that the weathering on all the originals still around have a LOT of variance to them.Some had more intense weathering, some had less, but they were all done in the same manner.When I weathered the prototype legend, I modeled it directly off the original we used from the archives (which had about a medium level of weathering compared to the others). Some were lighter, some were heavier. The one we modeled the prototype after was about in the middle.If you don't prefer the styling of the weathering of the prototype, then what that really means is that you don't really prefer the look of the weathering on the original helmets, not that we did a poor job replicating it. It actually is a very close match.

If you closely examine the weathering on the original helmets, they appear to be a bit on the random sloppy side. But that's how they were done for the film. Paint overspray. But performed in a deliberate random way if that makes sense.On film they look great and the weathering doesn't really stand out with the rest of the costume and environment. Holding the helmet in your hands the weathering just sort of becomes more 'noticeable'. It's like you are for the first time, truly noticing the details and styling of the original helmets.

But rather than perform an idealized weathering job, we chose to match the weathering as it was done for the originals.And since we had fantastic in-hand reference of an original helmet, that was the one I used to match the weathering to.

For the efx prototypes, we used the original production molds for everything except for the faceplate, chin cup, and eye lens.For those pieces, we took molds from the interior of a screen-used helmet.All these molds were vac-formed and assembled into a 1st gen helmet of the production molds, and then molded from the outside to produce fiberglass pieces.

Here's a shot of a guy wearing the weathered Legend at NYCC this past Oct.For me seeing it on a person just drives home how important using original molds is regarding the correct look.Just awesome. Looks straight out of the movie. And in a shot like this, the weathering just looks totally as it should and you don't really notice it standing out.

Now if you just have a preference for 'as first built - clean' props, then that's an entirely different thing.

Like I said, there were helmets weathered more severely and some more lightly, we went with one right down the middle. This is really more about your personal preference for lighter weathering vs how they were done for the film.Because I can assure you, some of the originals had a a LOT more severe weathering than our prototype.

Actually, we've stated what we used to create our prototypes from the very first announcement. Go to the first post of the announcement thread on RPF or Rebelscum which is where you'll usually find the most info (simply because that's where a large portion of our customers are).In fact, I've reiterated it on the forums on multiple occasions as well.

To repeat once again:We used original molds for both back/cap halves, and both halves of the visor. We molded a screen-used helmet from the archives from the inside of the parts for the faceplate, lens, and chin cup. And we also molded the resin snout detail piece.

one would think that all this information would be posed ion the description on the web site where your making the purchase. i for one want to know exactly what im getting when making a purchase of this magnitude. finding all of this after making the purchase is disappointing. as crazy as that sounds. i just thought the entire helmet was made from the original master tools that the original helemt were made from which in fact would make them one offs. but now im under the impression that only about 2/3rds is a one off and the face plate chin cup lens and resin snout detail piece are not.unless im totally misunderstood everything he is telling me becasue im noob boob.

Legend = A traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but not authenticated

Well.Is it realy a legend or a legend?

It's made ot of ABS. GoodIt's weathered as some screen used. Good...if you like itIt has the chinstrap as the screen used. GoodThe extra goody of that pistol. Nice to have.It's made with the original moulds.Well here and there.To lazy to go the extra mile for to use a hard hat liner instead of cheap black cloth. Disappointing.

So compared to the definition what is a legend it's perfect cause it's not realy authenticated if you look at it complete, but compared to what it could be it's as the legend Vader.First big marketing,second big hype and third more hot air as what was promissed at the beginning.

"Our new officially licensed, Legend Edition (Biker) Scout Trooper Helmet will be the most accurate reproduction of this incredible helmet produced to date. As with all of our Legend Edition Prop Replicas, the master molds were made from the original master tools ILM used to make the screen-used helmets. There was no digital scanning or 3D modeling used, only original parts and tooling. We even used an original decal sheet from ILM to make our markings and symbols that are seen on the helmet!

This EFX Legend Edition helmet is made in ABS, just like the original screen-used helmets.

And here is the special bonus for this Direct Exclusive Legend Edition: it INCLUDES the Biker Scout Pistol that was cast from an original, screen-used pistol!

So they DID go with ABS for the Legend after all. Is it the whole thing or is the face shield still fiberglass? If it wasn't for the weathering, which may be accurate to the helmet they used for reference but which I'm not too hot for, then this seems to be a nice piece.

For me, I think I would have preferred the Limited version to have been made from a scan of a real, assembled helmet, since they are doing those in fiberglass. That would have ensured near perfect assembly, but I guess they felt going that route when they could just mold and cast one of the ones they assembled for that line would be too much of a financial waste.

I'm still wondering if eFX will create a budget line with injection molded ABS helmets, like the Rubies Supreme was done. I think they could quickly rake in some cash that way, but it may bring down the interest and sales of their Limited and Legend line... maybe it would completely remove their interest in doing the limited line.

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